HSBC US Suffers More Mortgage Woes in 1H

HSBC Holdings, in a new earnings statement, says its U.S. mortgage business suffered writedowns of $760 million in the first half.But the bank -- which earlier this year exited the subprime correspondent market -- said the $760 million in mortgage-related writedowns is not significant because it had already booked reserves of $715 million. "As a result, our impairment allowances remained largely unchanged at $2.1 billion," it said. The London-based bank is the parent of HSBC Finance, Prospect Heights, Ill., the nation's second-largest subprime lender. HSBC said it has modified 5,000 loans as part of a "contact" program geared toward 19,000 troubled borrowers.